This invention relates to an emergency fresh air supply device.
It is becoming more commonly known that many fatalities occurring in fires are caused by smoke and accompanying gases rather than the flames themselves. Occupants of rooms in any building, whether low rise or high rise, may be overcome by smoke, even though no flames are present, and before they are able to escape.
Various life-saving or life-support systems which provide air to one or more persons as needed are disclosed in some of the above-identified patents. However, these systems are primarily for use in evironments different than that contemplated here.
It is a task of the present invention to provide an emergency fresh air supply to one or more persons in the outside room of a building. It is a further task to reduce the mixing of smoke or noxious gases, which may be present outside the building and closely adjacent the building wall, with the emergency fresh air supply. It is yet another task to provide an automatic signal to outsiders of the presence of a person or persons in the room who are having to resort to the emergency system in order to breathe.
In accordance with the various aspects of the invention, an openable face mask storage chamber is mounted on the inner side of an outer building wall. The mask or masks are connected through tubing to fresh air supplied through a conduit extending through the building wall to the outside. A closure cap is disposed on the outer conduit end and is actuatable from inside the storage chamber to open and permit fresh air to enter the conduit. The closure cap, when open, functions as a baffle to force smoke or the like which is rising up along the building's outside wall away from the mouth of the conduit. Furthermore, an alert device is triggered by opening of the closure cap and which is perceivable by outsiders to warn them that people in the room are in danger.